Defense, Return of Mackey Lead Eagles to 27-16 Victory Over Missouri Baptist

Streamwood, IL    The Judson University Football Team overcame two first-quarter deficits with an impressive effort from the defense and the ground game to give the Eagles their first conference win of the season on Saturday 27-16 over Missouri Baptist.  

The Spartans scored the game's first touchdown three minutes in on their first drive of the game. Judson answered with a long drive as the Eagles went 12 plays and 75 yards and finished the drive with an Alex Siebens 15-yard touchdown completion from Christian Miller to allow the Eagles to tie the game. Newcoming kicker Manuel Romero kicked the extra point. After MBU scored their second touchdown of the game, Judson responded with a 15-yard connection between Miller and O'Vauntay Vickers (Romero PAT) to cap another long 11-play, 75-yard drive that took 6:07 off the clock. The score remained deadlocked at 14 until the third quarter when Brandon Mackey shook off multiple tacklers to score from 39 yards out (Romero PAT) to give Judson a 21-14 lead. The Eagles scored again when Vickers converted on a two-yard connection from Christian Miller to give the Eagles a two-score cushion. The only points in the fourth quarter, and the only points from MBU in the half, came on an intentional safety from Judson when Christian Miller elected to run time off the clock late in the fourth quarter and concede in the end zone rather than punt the ball against 50 mile-per-hour winds.

Judson's defense was stellar, holding Missouri Baptist to 207 yards of total offense, including only allowing 81 passing yards in the air. Chance Cregeen led the Eagles with seven total tackles (six solo, one assist), including a tackle for a loss and a breakup. Bryce Heerey had six tackles (2-4), including a half tackle for a loss. Mitrez Rawls had five solo tackles and an assisted tackle in the contest. Josh Mason had four tackles (2-2) with a tackle for a loss. EJ Glover had a half-tackle for a loss for the Eagles. 

Brandon Mackey led the offensive charge with 117 yards rushing on 36 carries including the one 39-yard score. Christian Miller threw for 177 yards on 11-22 passing and three touchdowns. Keionta Fox led Judson's receiving corps with 68 yards on three receptions. 

"I'm really proud of this team. It isn't easy to have gone through the season we have had and continue to show up and fight and battle. It says a lot about the character of the guys on the team," said Head Coach Dan Paplaczyk. "The culture of the program is getting better every time we choose to go out and fight. Today was a true team effort. All three phases contributed. Our offense took care of the ball better than we have all year, and our defense made big stops and plays when we needed it most. Our special teams rebounded after the early bad snap and played well, also. It takes a lot of character to embrace the weather today as well. Our guys came out fired up and excited for the added challenge the weather added. The way we approached it was a big difference in the outcome of the game." 

Judson (2-7, 1-5 MSFAMW) concludes the 2022 season when they face off against Trinity International on November 12 in Streamwood at 1:00 p.m.